The first thing you should know about the North Dakota Ballet Company is that it's not your mother's tutu anymore. At least not much.
Now in its 40th year, the North Dakota Ballet Company has evolved, Artistic Director Job Christenson said. Tonight and Saturday, it will kick off its season with a show called "Reflections" that will feature English composer Gerald Finzi and Italian writer of operas Pietro Mascagni, as well as African-American singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman and the Indigo Girls.
"Even the classical companies do more contemporary pieces these days," Christenson said at a company rehearsal. "But you always want to maintain your traditions."
The North Dakota Ballet Company began as the Grand Forks Ballet Company in 1962 and was given the state name by then-Gov. William Guy in 1966, according to the company's history. In the following 10 years, the NDBC had directors associated with UND and used university facilities for its studio and performances.
Today, NDBC includes the Apprentice School, with 172 students from preschool through teens and adults, all but a handful of them female. Christenson and Noel are artistic directors. Kristen Borysewicz is executive director, and the artistic staff and board includes president Kristi Pettit and Terri Clark, Gail Halvorson, Mark Nelson, Michelle Rydz, Allison White and Ted White.
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The 2007 year also will mark 10 years since the 1997 flood and fires that destroyed parts of Grand Forks' downtown, including the NDBC studios. This year, the company has opened doors to a new professional studio space in Grand Cities Mall.
For children who are just beginning ballet lessons, dance is a way to encourage their natural urge to leap, spin, jump and twirl, Christenson said.
"Children instinctively dance, almost immediately as soon as they walk," he said. Through classes, they also learn the traditions and romance of the dance and are cultivated and groomed not just as dancers, but as people.
"I think what holds them, eventually, is the expression," he said. "Your body is a total communicator. Your body is a vessel for expression. Even people who haven't danced in 20 years remember that feeling."
Abi Kuznia, a native of Stephen, Minn., who lives in Grand Forks but is about to leave to study dance at Stephens College in Missouri, knows that feeling. A dancer since age 2½, she is part of the ballet company and a teacher as well.
"I will dance until I can't dance anymore," Kuznia said.
Dance traditions may have changed over the years, but many people still conjure an outdated image when they hear the word ballet, Christenson said. Kuznia said some people still think of ballet dancers as prim and proper, and expect going to the ballet to be hours of watching tutus and costume changes.
In unexpected ways, popular television shows such as "Dancing With the Stars" and "So You Think You Can Dance" may help change the public's expectations, Kuznia said. For one thing, those programs get people talking about dance. For another, they show a wide TV audience the beauty and the muscularity of classic and contemporary dance genres. They make dance more accessible, Kuznia said.
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"Even if you're a normal person, you can dance like Evander Holyfield," Kuznia said, smiling.
Tobin reports on arts and entertainment and coordinates the Teen Page. Reach her at (701) 780-1134; (800) 477-6572, ext. 134; or ptobin@gfherald.com .
